Forest land — Area in Nigeria
Nigeria: Forest land — Area was 17,130 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Area in Nigeria, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2025, forest land — area in Nigeria stood at 17,130 1000 ha. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in Nigeria peaked at 21,571 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 17,130 1000 ha, in 2025.
Nigeria ranks 46th of 249 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Area in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 21,571 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 21,444 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 21,317 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 21,190 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 21,063 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 20,936 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 20,810 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 20,683 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 20,556 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 20,429 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 20,302 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 20,175 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 20,048 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 19,921 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 19,794 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 19,668 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 19,541 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 19,414 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 19,287 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 19,160 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 19,033 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 18,906 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 18,779 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 18,653 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 18,526 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 18,399 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 18,272 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 18,145 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 18,018 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 17,891 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 17,764 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 17,638 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 17,511 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 17,384 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 17,257 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 17,130 1000 ha | -0.7% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 17,130 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3,483 1000 ha, 4.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 17,130 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,914 1000 ha, 4.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21,000 1000 ha | 20,429 1000 ha | 21,571 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 19,731 1000 ha | 19,160 1000 ha | 20,302 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 18,462 1000 ha | 17,891 1000 ha | 19,033 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 17,447 1000 ha | 17,130 1000 ha | 17,764 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.07 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.281 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.78 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in Nigeria?
- Forest land — area in Nigeria was 17,130 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 21,571 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 17,130 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Nigeria rank for forest land — area?
- Nigeria ranks 46th out of 249 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.